Starting as a Manga Editor

Chapter 159: Collaboration Card Pool

Avalon.

Li Xue had been closely monitoring the situation over at ANF lately—especially the series of events following the launch of several new features and comics.

She wasn’t surprised that the anime purchase event had stirred up a wave of excitement among users.

What did catch her off guard, though... was the response to the comics section.

Initially, her idea had been to use Tang Yao’s new series Chainsaw Man as a launching pad—to build up buzz around the comics section. Simply put, Chainsaw Man was meant to be the bait, drawing readers’ attention to the comics area, which in turn would alert mangaka that ANF was pushing hard in this direction.

And yes, the readers and mangaka were definitely paying attention to ANF’s comics section now.

But Chainsaw Man... turned out to be a lot more than just bait.

The series had become the litmus test for how viable ANF’s comics platform truly was.

Every mangaka thinking about testing the waters at ANF was watching Chainsaw Man closely.

Upon realizing this, Li Xue frowned—not because she didn’t trust Tang Yao. But as someone who had been through it all, she knew full well: the future shouldn't rest on one person’s shoulders. That wouldn’t be fair. The risk was secondary—Avalon’s foundation wasn’t the website, nor comics—it was games.

Even if the comics section totally bombed, as long as the gaming business stayed solid, they wouldn’t suffer a major blow.

It might not even affect ANF all that much.

But for Tang Yao... the pressure would be overwhelming.

Avalon’s gaming business already required her hands-on attention in almost every area aside from tech.

She even personally did voice work.

She was also the one drawing the comics.

And now, the comic she drew had to carry the weight of showcasing the entire value of ANF’s comics division. That was way too much.

Li Xue didn’t want things to go this way.

She really wanted to change the situation... but for now, she had no good solution. She couldn’t exactly tell Tang Yao to stop updating, could she?

Honestly, after so many years as a manga editor, she just couldn’t bring herself to make that kind of call. It wouldn’t be fair to the readers.

Plus, if the updates suddenly stopped, who knew what other ripple effects it might cause?

So Li Xue found herself deeply troubled.

Just as she was wracking her brain, wondering how to deal with the issue...

“Miss Li, what’s with that look?”

Tang Yao’s gentle voice drifted over. “You’re frowning like crazy.”

“……”

Li Xue looked up at the sound. Before she could speak, a cup of coffee was placed right in front of her lips.

She paused, slightly stunned, then slowly looked up—meeting Tang Yao’s delicate, fair, and beautiful face.

Tang Yao gave a soft smile. “Want a sip?”

“…Thanks.”

Li Xue came back to her senses and reached out to take the cup. She took a small sip. Bitterness tinged with a trace of sweetness—it was like her anxiety had suddenly eased.

On the other side—

Tang Yao pulled out a chair and sat down next to her, asking curiously, “So what happened, really?”

Li Xue hesitated for a moment, then decided to speak honestly. “...I’m just a little worried. All eyes are on Chainsaw Man. Isn’t that too much pressure for you?”

“Oh, so that’s what’s bugging you...”

Although Tang Yao had been busy lately experimenting with Dou Pai’s fragmented narrative structure, she was still keeping tabs on what was happening on the site.

So she instantly understood what Li Xue was concerned about. She smiled and said casually, “It’s fine! To get the ANF comics section off the ground, we do need a flagship title. I’m pretty confident in Chainsaw Man, and honestly, everyone deals with pressure. I can handle it just fine. Don’t let the way I look fool you—”

At that, she straightened her back slightly, gave her own impressive chest a playful pat, and joked, “I am a major mangaka now, you know!”

...jiggle jiggle.

“……”

Li Xue stared at her, lips gently pressed together, a strange look surfacing on her soft, elegant face.

She might not know what made someone a “mangaka,” but she definitely saw that clearly.

Meanwhile—

Tang Yao chuckled at her own joke, but as soon as she caught sight of Li Xue’s expression, she realized something. A faint blush crept onto her cheeks. “Don’t tell me your mind went somewhere else!?”

Li Xue couldn’t help it—she broke into a light laugh and shook her head. “No!”

“You totally did!”

Tang Yao shot her a playful glare, then snatched the cup from her hands, lifted it as if to take a drink, trying to hide her face.

But there was no way the cup could cover her face.

So she just kept sipping—gulp gulp gulp.

Watching Tang Yao struggle to hide her flustered expression, Li Xue couldn’t hold it in anymore. She burst into laughter.

“……”

Tang Yao finished over half the cup, finally set it down, and said, “Okay, enough fooling around. I’m actually here to talk about something serious… about ANF’s comics section.”

“Mhm, what is it?”

Li Xue quickly composed herself, straightening up her expression.

Tang Yao asked, “Remember I mentioned meeting Rumi last time?”

Li Xue nodded. “Yeah... but didn’t you say she was busy with her series and didn’t have time?”

“She just got in touch again.”

Tang Yao continued, “And it looks like she’s pretty interested in our comics section.”

“…You want to invite her to our platform?”

Li Xue’s eyes widened slightly in disbelief.

“Of course not. There’s no way she’d actually come over.”

Tang Yao shook her head, then raised a fair finger. “What I do want to do is… launch a collaboration card pool featuring FGO and her series Into the Night. Those mangaka—aside from worrying about ANF’s ecosystem—they’re also curious about how much money an FGO collab could pull in, right? So let’s show them a benchmark... If we’re trying to build hype, we might as well go full throttle.

On one hand, Chainsaw Man shows them that ANF comics can go mainstream.

On the other, we use Rumi’s massive popularity and the game’s built-in fanbase to roll out our first collaboration card pool—and let them see just how much money we can rake in!”

“……”

Li Xue paused, clearly not expecting Tang Yao to double down instead of feeling pressure.

“It’s a solid plan.”

Tang Yao knew what Li Xue was thinking and explained, “Don’t feel like you made the wrong call. You said it yourself—ANF has to go all-in on comics. We need unique titles to draw in the anime crowd.

Our site already has Fate/Zero, and our comics section is getting a lot of attention. If we just establish a clear benchmark, have a breakout hit, and back it with competitive rates and revenue shares, we won’t have to worry about attracting more mangaka.

So don’t start worrying about me now. I already braced myself when I handed you the Chainsaw Man manuscript! You’ve been doing a great job!”

“……”

Li Xue blinked, went silent for a beat, and then smiled brightly. “You’re sweet-talking me like I’m a kid…”

“Well, you seem pretty happy about it.”

Tang Yao tilted her head with a grin. “Anyway, don’t worry… But I will need you to step in for the collab.”

“You need me for the game?”

“Not for the game—when we talk to Miss Rumi. I’m not great with that kind of negotiation. I already set up the meeting. Come with me tomorrow to meet her, okay?”

“……”

As soon as Tang Yao finished—

Li Xue’s eyes lit up. “We’re meeting Miss Rumi tomorrow?”

“Yep.”

Tang Yao nodded, then noticed her expression and asked curiously, “You seem super excited?”

“Of course…”

Li Xue nodded, pressing her fingertips together, her voice tinged with anticipation. “I mean, it’s Miss Rumi! She used to publish with Wenxin Press, and even though she moved on later, she played a huge role in getting the press to where it is today. She’s basically a legend over there—and I worked at Wenxin for so many years… I’ve always wanted to meet her.”

“Ohhh—”

Tang Yao stretched out the syllable, clearly amused by the older woman’s almost girlish excitement.

Then—

She seemed to think of something, suddenly scooted her chair closer to Li Xue.

Li Xue noticed and was just about to respond—

When Tang Yao suddenly reached out and gently cupped her soft cheeks. “I’m a mangaka too, you know.”

Looking at Tang Yao’s flawless, strikingly beautiful face, Li Xue froze for a second, then blushed slightly and murmured, “I know…”